Will my cell phone work in Europe?

It can be a nightmare to see if your US cell phone will work in Europe. But with this guide you'll be able to see if it will work before you go - and perhaps even save a lot of money by being able to make cheap phone calls home on your cell phone while you're in Europe.

 

Basically you need to fulfil two conditions:

Condition One: It must be GSM

Don’t worry about what precisely what this means – it’s technical mumbo-jumbo about how the signal is transmitted. The important thing is that it must be GSM. Generally, phones with T-Mobile, AT&T, Rogers, and Fido are GSM. Phones with Verizon Alltel, Sprint/Nextel, Telus, Bell, Aliant, Sasktel, or MTS are not. If it's not GSM, it isn't going to work anywhere in Europe.

AND Condition Two: It needs to be tri-band or quad band

This is a technology inside the individual phone. There are lots of technical nerdy details which you don't really need to know but, in essence, if it isn’t tri-band or quad band it won’t work in the UK or anywhere in Europe. How do you know? Sadly, the quickest way is probably to find the manual that came with it; otherwise go to the manufacturer’s website and search for the phone’s model number. It's usually written somewhere on the phone, often under the battery cover. Sometimes - to complicate things further - they call themselves '900/1800/1900' instead of triband. Don't worry, it means the same thing.

So, be sure: You may have a tri/quad band phone that is not GSM; you may have a GSM phone that's not tri/quad band. It doesn't matter: unless they fulfil both conditions, it won't work in London, Madrid, France, Italy... or indeed anywhere else in Europe.

But wait! While your cell will work if the above two conditions are fulfilled, it's still not the cheapest way to use your cell phone while in Europe.

If you want to get cheap calls with the same handset, it also needs to be unlocked.

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UNLOCKED HANDSETS

What does it mean?

The phone companies often want you to only use that expensive handset on their network, so frequently they ‘lock’ it – meaning you can’t make calls using other US or foreign networks without their permission. And that means you're locked into paying massively high international rates. But you can unlock it - details below.

What's the benefit to getting it unlocked?

You can cut international calling costs from over $1 a minute to under 5 cents a minute. That's a pretty good saving.

Does it damage my phone and is it allowed?

No, it doesn't damage your phone at all. It's also 100 percent, absolutely, totally legal. Your phone won't look or act any differently afterwards, except it will accept a new SIM which enables the cheap calls.

How do I know if my phone is locked?

The quickest way to find out if your phone is unlocked is to find someone else with a GSM phone on a different wireless provider and swap SIM cards with them temporarily. If you can still make calls on your handset, it’s unlocked. If not, it's locked.

Ok - my phone is locked - how do I unlock it?

There are companies that do this on the internet but the best option is to get it done in person.There are sometimes stalls in malls, or if you wait till you get to the UK you can have it done in many places, often in London's markets.

How much does it cost?

It varies depending on what type of phone you have. In the UK the cost is around £5-15 per handset, in the US it's about $5-25.

Ok, so what happens after my phone is unlocked?

You get a UK SIM card - or one for whichever European country you're traveling to. You swap your current sim card (it's inside the phone, usually behind the battery) for the new one. Once you stop travelling, you switch it back.

If you're coming to the UK the cheapest offer is for a company called Talkmobile - the world plan. This allows UK to USA calls from 3.5 cents a minute. The SIM is free and you can order online a week or so before you leave and have it delivered to your hotel. You just need to pay £10 for the credit you're going to use anyway.

There are even more details about choosing the best ways to call home in my section how to get cheap phone calls in Europe. I've also got reams of advice about hotels, getting vital travel insurance for the best price and for finding the cheapest flight around!

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This guide is updated every quarter and was last reviewed in Autumn/Fall 2009.